The buzzing of my phone on the nightstand was enough to wake me up. I blinked my eyes enough to get the "morning blur" away. Man, I'm tired. Why am I so tired? Lazily, my hand makes grabs at the phone but my depth perception is still off. I groan and slide out of bed to gain my balance and answer whoever is calling me this early during a school week. I flip it over and the bright screen blinds me. "Ugh, brightness down," I complain as I change the settings.

PHONE CALL FROM: DELLA 

That's when I realize it isn't even morning, but 10:30 at night. "Hello?" I ask, quieter than normal as to not wake Aero who oddly sleeps right across the hall. 

 "Reyna?" Della croaks. Della never croaks...

 "Della, are you okay?" "No," she admits, choking on tears and sobbing loudly. "Reyna please come over."

 "Now? My parents will kill me if I'm out late."

 "Your parents will be mad?" she hysterical says. "Reyna, my mom is dead."

 My mouth hangs open with shock. Victoria Saylor was a bit of a snob, yeah. And she had a lot of business competition, but I don't remember anyone Della mention of being capable of murder...

 "Don't worry," I tell her, mind racing, unable to slow down. "I'm on my way."

Brusquely, I change into a tank top, throw a jacket on, snatch some sweatpants, tie my hair back in a messy ponytail, and dash out the door with my keys. I stop short by my –Aero's, door. My hand makes a fist, which hovers over the entry. But I don't knock. I don't want to wake him and I don't completely trust him. 

 You probably think that's ridiculous considering he's staying here to help me, but I saw him with Allister. They talked about something together that they didn't do with the rest of us. I ditch the idea of bringing Aero and head out the house. Della only asked for me, anyway.

I enter my car, put it in reverse, and drive to Della's. To wake me up, I play some music extra loud. I stop by a coffee shop and pick up four cups for who I imagine will be at the house – Adelina, Allister, me, and Hanzo. 

I take a few sips of coffee and wonder how the hell Della's mom died, and how exactly she found out. Did she call the police? We all swore not to go to the cops unless we had to because of Aero's brother, Enzo. But then again...what if Enzo really isn't the bad guy Aero made him out to be? 

"Stop it, Reyna," I sigh to myself. "Why else would Aero tell you your house is bugged and his cop-brother is basically Satan?" 

Because maybe Aero is the bad guy. 

I get back in my car and head to Adelina's while my late-night conscience accuses Aeroof of taking Makai. But that makes too much sense. The new kid talks to the odd-man-out at the party to plant a seed of friendship because the new kid wants to fit in. So, he takes a close friend of the close friends so he has a gap to fill. But "don't go to the cops," the new kid tells us because his brother is an evil druggie who abuses his job. Then the new kid volunteers to stay at my (the odd-man-out) house after claiming it was bugged. But was it really? Everything the notes said could've come from the new kid himself without the use of audio bugs. It all makes perfect sense.

But could this really be the psycho "new kid" we're dealing with? Or is it Aero, the man who despises his brother but wants to help some troubled 18-year-olds? You tell me. 

I flash a sidelong glance at my half-full cup of coffee. "Alright, too much coffee..." Or is it too much logic? 

 My eyes go back to the road, illuminated by my headlights. Up ahead, trees shroud the street from the moonlight. 

The car radio starts to go static; the songs flipping in and out of fuzzy sounds. Spooky shadows stretch over the lone road the deeper I travel under the trees. Rock starts to form in my stomach. So what do I do in the face of a perfect serial killer setting? I laugh. Ifreaking laugh. Maybe I'm the psycho. "Not today, freaky scenery," I chant, reaching down to grab a CD that doesn't need a Wi-Fi connection. Sliding the disc in, I feel more at ease as a relaxing song plays, making this seem less like a slasher film and more like a dark, scenic drive. 

But then the CD starts to reach static, too. "What the heck?" I furiously ask, the fear creeping back up to my throat. I hit the CD player a few times, wondering if it's just switching between radio and disc mode. 

The music starts again, but it isn't music. 

"Hello, Reyna," an automated voice greets through my car speakers. "Don't go toDella's house. You won't want to be there. She was a bitch to you anyways..."

 I want to ask "who is this" or "what's happening" but I know it's a CD player and it doesn't hear me. Someone knew I would be going to Della's, and someone knew I would lose a radio connection, and someone knew how Della treated me. Aero was always hyper-perceptive...could it really have been him? 

"Reyna, I like you. How about I give you a viable reason not to go to Adelina's house?" 

 Up ahead, my lights catch a dark shape crawling on the road, leaving trails of blood. Islam on my breaks and stop right behind the figure – it's a person – maimed and beaten half to death.

"You're welcome," the automated voice says. "I'll catch you later." Then the music starts again and I'm just sitting in my car feeling like an idiot. 

 I look at the struggling man and wonder what the automated voice – the killer or kidnapper or whoever – wants with him. I only see the dark hair and bronze skin and suddenly I have an idea about who he is.

 "Makai?"